Have you heard of Crossrail Place Roof Garden? A leafy garden tucked in among the skyscrapers of Canary Wharf, here’s why you might want to check it out.
Londoners, we know you’re always on the hunt for cool, hidden spots around the city. We also know you’re always after green spaces to chill in – preferably ones people don’t know so well.
Let us introduce you to the Crossrail Place Roof Garden (or the Canary Wharf roof garden, as it is sometimes known) – a gorgeous greenhouse perched up high in Canary Wharf where you can chill, catch some good views and even a live performance or two.
Why Visit Crossrail Place Roof Garden?
For a little bit of greenery in one of the most built-up areas in London. If that doesn’t do it for you, know that the plants at Crossrail Place’s Roof garden come from all around the world and are arranged in a funky order that means you can take a world tour of sorts when you tour the garden.
Oh, and for the views of course…
What is Crossrail Place Roof Garden?
You may have heard of Crossrail Place. It’s one of the bigger complexes that makes up the boxy, glass jungle of finance that is Canary Wharf. The roof garden is a rooftop (duh) garden (err, duh) that crowns part of the building.
The Plants
It’s one of those spaces that not many people really know about, but it boasts a few reasons to visit. Most of that is in the plants.
The Crossrail Roof Garden is bordering on being a greenhouse. They’ve got hundreds of plants from all over the world, varying from huge trees to exotic flowers and shrubs.
East Meets West
The coolest thing about the garden though, is how it’s laid out. By what we’re sure was no mistake at all, the middle of the Crossrail garden sits exactly on the meridian line where east meets west.
To make something interesting out of that, the gardeners – or whoever was responsible – has laid the garden out into two halves. One with plants found in the west, the other with plants found in the east.
You can walk down the little paths that cut through the flowerbeds and actually take a tour (of sorts) through the flora of the world.
You’ll also be able to catch some pretty good views from the garden. And the benches tucked in among the flowerbeds make for pretty nice places to chill – or take your lunch if you work in the area.
The Roof and Performance Space
Two things you’ll notice about the coolest roof garden Canary Wharf has to offer is that it’s got a very fancy roof, and a performance area.
You might recognise that typical triangular shape from the British Museum’s Great Court. The architects that built that roof also built this one.
As for the performance space: it’s an 80-seater theatre tucked in among the greenery and it looks amazing at night, the starlit sky playing backdrop to the stage – who are we kidding, you never see stars in London. You’ll have to make do with the twinkling office lights instead.
You can see a list of any performances here
Crossrail Place Roof Garden: Practical Information
Address: Crossrail Pl, London E14 5AB
Opening Times: 9am – 9pm Daily (sometimes it stays open late for sunset)
Tickets: Free
